Someone in the Multiverse, Starts as Fu Hua Chapter 23

"This is exactly what I need to say."

Gilgamesh's voice was steady and forceful, his words clear: "We have now reached Uruk's final hour. The true Tiamat has broken free from the shackles of Imaginary Space and descended into reality! Quetzalcoatl has already set out with Marduk's Axe, while the Herrscher of Reason and the three Heroic Spirits at the North Wall hold the front line."

"Tiamat!?" Ritsuka gasped in shock.

"You're saying Mother has come out too!?" Ishtar's eyes went wide. "Hey, hey, this isn't a joke! If our opponent is Mother, don't we stand absolutely no chance!?"

"I know your personality has changed, but I cannot pretend not to hear such a spineless remark!"

Gilgamesh roared: "Correct! The enemy is just like Quetzalcoatl and Ereshkigal—an opponent impossible to defeat through sheer force! But if it's the Crimson Kite Immortal, I believe we still have a considerable chance of victory!"

Gilgamesh fixed his gaze on Amber: "The blow you struck against Ereshkigal didn't just sever her attack—it severed her consciousness as well. Though the Underworld's blessing allowed her to recover quickly, it was undeniably effective."

"..." Thinking of that blue-haired figure, Amber shook her head. "If it were a normal lifeform, that might work. But Tiamat is a goddess who has survived in Imaginary Space for who knows how long. If she has already adapted to that realm, my attack might not work on her."

Gilgamesh frowned. He hadn't expected such an answer, but he quickly shook his head.

"No matter. Expecting an easy resolution was always a fantasy... It's fine if you go with the intent of gathering intelligence. The Persian Gulf is far from Uruk, so there's no need to settle things in a single round. Search for Tiamat's weakness while coordinating with Leonidas for an interception operation."

"Yes!" Ritsuka nodded.

Seeing this, Gilgamesh's mood lifted greatly. He waved his hand and said: "Then set out now! The battle plan has been fully explained! The next time we fight will be Uruk's final battle!"

His voice carried ample vigor and confidence—not only because he had just been revived and used a restorative elixir to adjust himself to peak condition, but also because the current situation was far stronger than he had anticipated.

In his predictions, Leonidas, the strongest shield, would die. Ushiwakamaru would die. Marduk's Axe would be destroyed after use. But the current situation was completely different.

Not only had none of his Servants fallen since Chaldea's arrival, but Quetzalcoatl was in perfect condition, Marduk's Axe remained intact, and he had gained two immensely powerful allies—the Crimson Kite Immortal and the Herrscher of Reason.

With such a luxurious lineup, he simply couldn't imagine defeat.

The group quickly left the Divine Tower. Ishtar could use Ma'anna to carry one person, and thanks to Ma'anna's properties, it could completely block wind pressure, so she took Ritsuka.

Amber's method of carrying someone while flying was simpler and more brute-force—she relied entirely on True Qi to carry a person alongside her. Without Merlin casting magic to reduce wind pressure, it wasn't suitable for someone with Ritsuka's ordinary physique, so she took Mash instead.

All four knew this was a matter of utmost urgency, so they wasted no time and flew at full speed.

Both were top-tier in strength. Though Amber was stronger on paper, Ishtar was still the Heavenly Goddess, riding a Heavenly Boat that ignored wind pressure. At full speed, she didn't fall behind Amber.

Under their full-speed travel, it took only an hour to fly from Uruk to the Persian Gulf at the edge of the continent.

By now, the Persian Gulf showed no trace of clear seawater. The only sight was a chaotic sea woven from black and red. One after another, black monsters burst out from the surface, laughing wildly as they attacked the Servants on land.

At the very front line stood the Herrscher of Reason, who looked utterly relaxed but couldn't hide the irritation on her face. Those monsters couldn't last a single exchange under her fists and feet—each punch or kick turned swaths of them into clouds of blood mist.

And Amber knew at a glance what was frustrating her.

Though these black monsters were nothing but cannon fodder to the Herrscher of Reason, the same couldn't be said for the other Servants.

Quetzalcoatl had no issues—the monsters came and died just the same—but the three Servants at the North Wall were clearly struggling to hold their own in the monster horde.

It wasn't that they were weak. In fact, each monster only took two or three exchanges to finish. But... there were too many.

The moment one was dealt with, three or four more swarmed in. Trying to attack one left them open to attacks from another. In this situation, they could barely protect themselves, let alone eliminate the enemy. Ushiwakamaru and Benkei both showed clear signs of exhaustion. Leonidas should have been able to handle it more easily, but...

Countless golden-red shields formed an unbroken wall, preventing any black monster from breaking through. This was Leonidas's Noble Phantasm. By deploying it, he had sacrificed his own mobility to restrict all monsters from landing.

The Herrscher of Reason wanted to go after Tiamat, but she was forced to run back and forth because of her struggling teammates. Though Quetzalcoatl was helping Leonidas, she still had to look after two others. With this situation, it would be a miracle if she was in a good mood.

"Let's go down and help too."

As Ishtar spoke, two Star Stones appeared in her hands, greatly amplifying her magical power.

"Ma'anna!"

Should be able to finish within eight chapters... 3

Chapter 48: The Unbeatable Enemy

Overwhelming firepower swept across the entire front-line coast in an instant, blasting a massive wave of monsters that had surged onto land into smithereens.

"You're only showing up now!?"

The Herrscher of Reason looked up at the sky, her displeasure practically overflowing.

She was genuinely frustrated. Surrounded by teammates, she couldn't unleash her full power. On top of that, these monsters were disgustingly ugly—far more repulsive than Honkai Beasts—and the fact that they could speak human language made them even worse.

"Where are Ana and Merlin?" Ritsuka landed on the ground and looked around, but didn't see either of them.

He had thought they would be guarding the front line too, but apparently not.

"Merlin's already dead, it seems. And that Ana is with some Gorgon now." The Herrscher of Reason punched the last nearby monster into pieces, then turned to complain to Amber as she landed: "What took you so long? Did going down to the Underworld really need that much time?"

"Most of the time was spent traveling," Amber said.

"Then never mind." The Herrscher of Reason nodded. That wasn't hard for her to understand—spending three days walking from Mount Taixu to Shenzhou's border, taking three seconds to defeat a Honkai, then another three days walking back to Mount Taixu. Standard procedure.

Still, that didn't cool her temper.

"Since you're all here, leave this side to you. I'm going to deal with that big one." The Herrscher of Reason pointed at Tiamat in the distance.

Unlike the Tiamat Amber had seen before, this one was enormous, with a height more terrifying than Mount Ebif. Her face held no trace of maternal love—only a chilling, silent indifference as if she would annihilate everything.

For a moment, Amber couldn't believe this was the gentle woman she remembered.

"Deal with that thing!?" Roman's voice rang out at that moment. Staring at the measurement data on his screen, his voice trembled: "This level of magical reaction is completely beyond the norm! It's something no known Spirit Base could ever contain!"

"Even Quetzalcoatl and the immortal can't do it?" Ritsuka frowned.

"Exactly!"

Roman's tone was certain: "This isn't a matter of strength anymore, but a gap in scale. The Spirit Base that Tiamat holds in this incarnation isn't something a Servant-level being should possess!"

"Are you saying that I, the great Herrscher of Reason, am inferior to her?" The Herrscher of Reason said irritably. "Spirit Base or not, whether we can win or not, we'll only know after we fight!"

With that, she couldn't be bothered to care about anyone else's reactions and prepared to charge at Tiamat.

The monsters that had surged forward after Ishtar's wave of attacks were instantly cleared into a path by the Herrscher of Reason.

Ishtar followed up with another round of bombardment, while the rest were easily taken down by the others.

Ritsuka looked back at the shield wall, now somewhat translucent, and at Leonidas's grim expression. He knew Gilgamesh's magical energy might be running low.

He was in the same situation now. If they couldn't stop the endless waves of monsters, then even if Ishtar could replenish her magical power and firepower with gems, greatly reducing his consumption, it didn't mean he could sustain this indefinitely.

"Doctor, is there any way to stop these monsters from constantly pouring out?" Ritsuka looked at his wristband.

Ishtar descended from the sky: "Hey! Call that childish Fu Hua back right now! That black mud isn't something you can just step on!"

"Xiao Shi!" Hearing this, Amber immediately called out to the Herrscher of Reason.

"I'm not another Fu Hua!" The Herrscher of Reason showed no sign of returning, but she did obediently stop in her tracks and asked impatiently, "What now?"

"Tiamat possesses various authorities like self-modification, self-replication, and biological fusion. These monsters you call Lahmu are one of her products. But... Tiamat's most terrifying ability is cellular coercion," Ishtar explained. "Once swallowed by that black mud, no matter what Servant you are, you'll be assimilated. Simply put, if you get stuck, you become one of Tiamat's minions!"

"That's a thing?"

The Herrscher of Reason's expression shifted. Though she wasn't one to believe in superstitions, she became much more cautious, carefully examining the black-red seawater ahead.

After a closer look, she broke into a grin: "Pfft! And here I thought it was something troublesome. Watch me!"

With that, she turned to Amber: "Give me back the Core. Feathered Dust is yours."

Amber had no objections. She produced the longsword from thin air and tossed it to the Herrscher of Reason, who in turn threw a flower-shaped object into Amber's hands.

In truth, the sword wasn't the Core, and the flower wasn't Feathered Dust.

As the Key of Consciousness and the Core of the Herrscher of Reason, they had no fixed form. Their shape, appearance—everything depended on the wielder's imagination. That Feathered Dust took the form of a flower was only due to the influence of a game.

The same went for the brick, though it had now been transformed into a sword.

After taking the longsword, a massive blade twice a person's height and one person's width appeared beneath the Herrscher of Reason's feet. Riding this greatsword, she flew straight toward Tiamat's colossal body.

It was only then that Roman belatedly responded to Ritsuka's question: "The time is too short. Chaldea can only analyze Tiamat's Spirit Base level, the nature of that black mud, and the properties of those monsters called Lahmu. Beyond that..."

In other words, they needed time.

Ritsuka still trusted Chaldea's analytical abilities; after all, their analysis had helped them more than once.

"But one thing is clear: to stop the spread of the black mud and the birth of the Lahmu, defeating Tiamat is the only option."

"What about using the Marduk Hand Axe? Is there a chance to kill Tiamat?" Quetzalcoatl had also arrived by then, her expression grave. "I came ahead. The Marduk Hand Axe is still being transported. With Jaguar Man guarding it, there shouldn't be any problems."

"...It might work... probably..." Roman's voice wavered.

"Why are you so uncertain!?" Ishtar couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Because I have a hypothesis..." Under Ishtar's questioning and everyone's expectant gazes, Roman steeled himself and slowly spoke: "Tiamat... might not be killable. No matter what you do to her, she cannot be brought to the end of life."

"Are you saying she has an even stronger immortality than Gorgon?" Quetzalcoatl's expression turned serious.

At this moment, the only one among them with a special advantage against immortality was Anna, but she was currently resonating with Gorgon's Spirit Base.

"No... My hypothesis is bolder than that."

Roman took a breath, then said: "Tiamat is the Mother of Life. Our very existence proves her existence, so she cannot be destroyed... Though this hypothesis of mine is a counterargument, if it holds, as long as life exists on the earth, Tiamat will not die..."

"...No way..."

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Chapter 49: Gogh's Resolve

"If that's the case... then there's no way at all?"

Ritsuka couldn't believe it, and Amber's brow was tightly furrowed.

She had long anticipated that Tiamat wouldn't be simple, but she hadn't expected it to be this absurd... Compared to Tiamat, even Quetzalcoatl seemed tame. At least Quetzalcoatl had a solution, but Tiamat...

Amber's gaze shifted to the Herrscher of Reason, who had already reached Tiamat's side in the distance. She silently prayed that Imaginary Energy would work.

But she quickly realized—even if it did work, what then?

How do you kill an enemy that simply cannot die?

The Herrscher of Reason was unaware of all this. Staring at the colossal being right before her, a defiant grin spread across her face. A massive surge of Imaginary Energy instantly flooded into her hand.

Compared to other Herrschers, she had no means to directly affect reality. All she could do was attack an enemy's spiritual consciousness, making them believe in their own death on an mental level, thereby killing them. But... that was under normal circumstances.

Having mastered all of Fu Hua's combat techniques, she had also achieved perfection in Tai Xu Sword Qi. Though she had made no progress in Sword Heart, she didn't need it.

No matter how good your Sword Heart was, could it compare to me, a Herrscher?

Black-purple flames ignited around the Herrscher of Reason, converging heavily at her brow. A Garuda avatar, completely different in color from Fu Hua's, manifested behind her. The massive avatar nearly covered half the sky, making it clear this was an all-out strike.

The Tai Xu Sword God does not consume True Qi on a per-use basis, but rather by quantity.

A wisp of True Qi can unleash a Sword God of that wisp; all of one's True Qi can unleash a Sword God of that full amount. If one wishes, every single attack can be imbued with the Sword God, the difference lying only in the magnitude of power. And with a Sword Heart that constantly absorbs surrounding True Qi for one's own use, it can be said that the Tai Xu Sword God incurs no meaningful consumption of True Qi at all.

So what does it consume?

The answer is mental energy.

To invoke the Sword God, one must naturally guide True Qi with the mind. How much True Qi is guided depends entirely on how much one "puts their mind into it."

For Li Sushang, using all the True Qi that a Sword Heart can draw upon in a single go requires a massive expenditure of mental energy. Thus, it is not that the Sword God can be used as a basic attack; rather, it is Fu Hua, who possesses Garuda factors and whose body and mind are continuously replenished to their peak state, who can treat the Sword God as a basic attack.

The same holds true for the Herrscher of Reason.

As a Herrscher who manipulates consciousness, her mental energy is equally inhuman, allowing her to open with the Sword God without hesitation.

But even she expended an immense amount of mental energy in that instant.

A massive black bird flew forth from her true form. This black bird, rivaling several Mount Ebifs in size, generated tremendous heat. Those far away even felt as though the sea level had dropped several degrees in anticipation of this yet-unfallen strike.

"Take this!"

Every person's Tai Xu Sword God has a different true form and attack shape. Fu Hua's is the Garuda and a crimson greatsword. Amber's true form has yet to appear, and her attack shape is a golden greatsword. Li Sushang's is a swallow and the Xuanyuan Sword. The Herrscher of Reason's is a black Garuda and a black bird in the shape of a Garuda.

A heat capable of sweeping away everything fell from the sky onto the sea. The boundary between heaven and earth blurred in an instant. The scorching temperature evaporated every last trace of the black mud. Amber stepped forward to block the aftershocks of this attack. When everyone's vision recovered, they saw Tiamat's body already kneeling on the ground.

"I see—that enormous body weight and those slender legs are disproportionate. So, if not for the black mud, Tiamat wouldn't even be able to move freely!" Roman once again spotted the enemy's weakness.

"Did we hit her...?" Ushiwakamaru was nearly stunned speechless by the attack.

"No... we didn't." Amber squinted. Tiamat's body bore not a single scratch; clearly, she had not fallen because of the attack.

The Herrscher of Reason's expression also darkened.

Because she, too, realized that her attack had not felt like it "struck a vital point."

However, to say it was completely ineffective would also be wrong.

She could sense that Tiamat's consciousness had now completely shut down. Though not dead, her state was far from good.